


me, him, and the rings in between.

by oblivoid



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments (Movies), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Angst, Fluff, High School AU, Multi, slow burn?? possibly??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 12:30:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18778327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oblivoid/pseuds/oblivoid
Summary: Alec Lightwood has a problem with his hands. This results in him being forced to the counsellor of Idris High. He meets a boy there, loud and bright. From his varying rings to his cobalt blue eyeliner, the boy shows his confidence and ease. Alec’s curiosity is piqued, and even more so when the boy hands him one of his rings.





	1. rings.

 

It wasn't Alec's fault that he had an appointment with the counsellor, not really.

Mr Starkweather had found out about the issue he had with his hands--the way he would grab at them and dig his fingers into the knuckles and back of his hands. Alec didn't really think of it as an issue, not until recently. He liked the pain that it caused, as odd and sadistic as it would have sounded to anyone else. Then Mr Starkweather--but everyone called him Hodge--saw the red, small scars his fingernails left all over the back of his hands. Hodge had immediately glanced at him with a look of pity and sent him to the counsellor.

Alec made his way to the counsellor's office, keeping his hands tucked into the folds of his hoodie, dodging other students like a wraith, shifting through the hallways. He tried to make sense of Hodge's reasons, and failed. It didn't concern Hodge, Alec wasn't harming anyone, and as far as he knew no one cared enough to bother helping him.

Finally, he reached the decent attempt of a cozy and safe haven. It was not that bad, the ceiling flickering with golden lights, the couches with blankets and cream-coloured pillows over them.

His eyes ran over the expanse of the counsellor’s waiting room, before stopping on a boy, sitting--well, sprawled was a better word for it--on one of the couches, staring idly at one of the paintings framed on the wall.. Rings decorated every finger of his, and his eyes were accentuated with dark eyeliner. He was wearing a gold-lined leather jacket and jeans, and his hair was spiked upwards carelessly, streaked with maroon dye. He was...loud.  

Alec suddenly realised that the boy’s gaze shifted from the painting to him.

The boy asked, “Hey. What are you doing here?”

Alec shifted uncomfortably. “What are _you_ doing here?”

The boy shrugged. That one, fluid gesture alone seemed to tell Alec he had no interest in telling him what Alec couldn’t return an answer with. Instead, the boy asked another question. “What’s your name?”

Before Alec could open his mouth, the boy continued, “I’m Magnus. Magnus Bane.” A smile pulled at the corner’s of the boy’s—Magnus’s—mouth, and Alec noted that his whole face lit up. It was like watching the sun crest over the lip of a waterfall, shining through the clear waters.

“I’m…” Alec’s voice cracked, and he winced, trying again. “Alec. Alexander Lightwood.”

Before Magnus could reply, a head poked through the door. “Magnus Bane? Come in.”

Magnus sighed and stood up. Alec wasn’t surprised to find him slightly shorter than himself, yet by the way Magnus carried himself it seemed as if he were the taller one. “I’ll see you later, Alexander Lightwood.”

“Later, gator,” Alec mused, an old saying that had slipped out of him when Magnus called him by his full name.

He was pleasantly surprised when Magnus replied, striding off, “After a while, crocodile.”

Just as Magnus’s golden jacket and red streaked hair was about to slip out of Alec’s view, he blurted, just loud enough for Magnus to hear, he hoped, but not the counsellor, “I hurt my hands. Intentionally.”

Magnus looked back at him. Alec couldn’t decipher it. It wasn’t pity. It wasn’t sadness. It was a look of watching a story unfold and knowing there was nothing you could do about it. But what had happened in the story?

 

* * *

 

Alec waited outside the counsellor’s office for at least an hour before Magnus emerged again, his hair now significantly more ruffled, as if he had run a hand through it a dozen times. His leather jacket was slung over his shoulder, and he wore another dark blue shirt beneath that matched his cobalt eyeliner.

Alec watched Magnus as he walked out, giving him a little smile. Yet Magnus’s eyes strayed to his hands, and Alec followed his gaze. He realised his own hands had been intertwined in each other for quite a while now, leaving dozens of red marks scattered across them as his fingers pushed into his knuckles.

As the counsellor called for Alec to enter, Magnus seemed stuck between the exit and walking towards him. It seemed as if time had frozen, and even between them everything had slowed down painfully. In two quick strides, Magnus reached the couch where Alec was sitting on, and slipped off one of his rings.

Alec, still dumbfounded, allowed Magnus to turn over one of his hands and place the ring in it. It was warm from being worn by Magnus, and Alec gazed down at it.

Magnus whispered, the words so soft Alec doubted even Magnus himself could hear it, “The pain in your heart cannot be solved by pain by your hands.”

Magnus slipped out of the counsellor’s office, into the noisy fray that was Idris High, and the counsellor called for Alec once more. He stood up hurriedly, knocking over several books in the process.

“Coming!” He exclaimed.

And he did go, after picking up the fallen books, but not before he gave the ring one last glance and slipped it onto his finger.

It was a brown and green one, both colours seeming to have various shades. The pine green seemed to prance over the burnt umber, the soft juniper green mixing with the carob brown. It was like a game of catch, but none of the colours were winning. In fact, the more Alec stared at it, the more it seemed like an exchange of dance moves. He smiled down at it, sparkling on his finger, before walking toward the counsellor’s office.

He seemed to have gained a bit of Magnus’s confidence.

 

* * *

 

The appointment lasted an hour, before the lunch bell rang, as shrill and loud as Alec remembered. The counsellor, Mr Garroway, asking pointless questions like _“Why do you pick at your hands?”_ or _“Are you sad?”_

If it hadn’t been clear before, Alec wasn’t sad. The hand-digging was just a habit, one that now seemed to be embedded into him. It was hard to explain how it grounded him. But he stood up, and pushed the chair in as he left.

Before he could push open the door, Mr Garroway said, “Alec.”

“Yeah?” He looked back.

“Nice ring.”

 

* * *

 

Alec pushed his food around his plate on his tray as he sat with his usual group: his siblings, Jace and Izzy, Jace’s girlfriend, Clary, Simon --Clary’s best friend-- and Aline.

“So, how was the counsellor’s appointment?” Izzy asked, hands braced on the lunch table.

Alec placed his own hands on the table, mirroring Izzy’s stance and giving himself a second to formulate his answer. He didn’t know what to say. Obviously, the appointment was horrible, but meeting Magnus… “It was fine,” He finally said.

Jace leaned forward. “Is that a ring on your hand?”  
Unfortunately, even as Alec had pulled his sleeves up to cover his hands, he didn’t cover his fingers. The brown and green ring shone bright as day on his finger, and he cursed himself for not taking it off.

“It’s…” Alec, unsure of what to say, looked away. Clary leaned forward, humour dancing in her eyes.

“It’s pretty,” Clary said kindly. Jace snorted.

Alec couldn’t watch this unfold. Any longer, and he would have broke and told him a boy he met at the counsellor’s office gave it to him. Alec stood up from the table. “I have to go.”

Izzy protested, “But your food!”

“Wasn’t hungry anyways. Jace can have it.”

Jace made a sound of delight as Alec walked off. He pushed past the crowd in the hallways.

Suddenly, he crashed into someone, who let out a soft gasp, and Alec looked up into the brown eyes of Magnus Bane.

“Alexander!” Magnus greeted him. Alec was pleasantly surprised, but that feeling quickly passed.

He asked, “Magnus, why did you give me that ring?”

Magnus shrugged. “I thought it might help. Maybe next time you want to dig at your hands you could touch the ring. And it reminded me of your eyes.”

Alec was at a loss for words. He realised that he, in fact, had been touching the ring more to substitute out hurting his hands.  
Alec realised they had been standing in the middle of the hallway. He pulled Magnus to the side and confessed, “That was the reason why I was at the counsellor, you know. Hodge found out.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. I was there because…” Magnus seemed to hesitate, and Alec’s curiosity was spiked.

“Because?” He prompted, when Magnus’s seemed to be somewhere else.

Magnus’s eyes instantly refocused, and to Alec’s disappointment, dismissed his unfinished question with a wave of his hand. “It’s nothing.”

“Drugs?”

“No!”

“Fight?”

“I don’t fight. That would mess up my appearance. And I very much prefer my appearance intact.”

“Girlfriend issues?”

“Don’t have one.”  
“Then what?” Alec was exasperated.

Magnus laughed, the sound rich and soothing. Alec liked his laugh. “You’ll figure out the mystery of Magnus Bane one day, Alexander Lightwood.”

“I’m beginning to think you say my full name for the fun of it.”  
“And why shouldn’t I? It’s a beautiful name.”

Alec felt heat spread across his face. He shouldn’t feel like this. Especially not toward a boy who could be straight, _and_ homophobic. The classic combination of self-entitled white men. But Magnus wasn’t  white. In fact, Alec would bet anything that Magnus was Indonesian. And judging by the way Magnus looked, Alec doubted he was straight. But people like that did exist. Alec didn’t tell anyone he was gay, and he very much wouldn’t like anyone find out.

Alec realised he had been staring when Magnus smiled at him. “Are your parents poets?”

Without meaning to, Alec said, “No, I’m the poet.”

Something like surprise flitted across Magnus’s face, and Alec changed the topic. “What about you? Magnus… not a very common name.”

“Would you rather I be named something like Mark?”

“Answer my question, Magnus.”

“I’m not a poet. Never was good at creating things. Only… destroying them.”

Magnus looked up at Alec, and he swore his heart did a double take, flew to the back of his ribcage and twisted itself into ribbons. His eyes were thoughtful, deep, and immensely beautiful.

“I’ll see you around, Alexander.” Magnus pushed off the wall, leaving Alec to watch as he walked away with his hands in his pockets, shoulders thrown back in a portrait of cool confidence.

Alec found Magnus Bane beautiful.

 

 

 


	2. koi no yokan.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alec realises he and magnus aren't much different from each other.

It was five in the morning the next day when Alec got up from his bed to go to the ice rink.

His work wasn’t hard, and he got decent pay. All Alec had to do was clean up any leftover sticks, shoes, make sure the rink wasn’t half-melted, and that was about it.

He needed the money. Being the oldest in the family, and with Robert, the main source of income of the family, choosing to split up with his mother, the family had been, and still was, going through a rough patch. Even though his mother was adamant he not give up his passion for writing, Alec had to make many compromises to attempt to pull the frayed ends of the strings that was their life together at the seams.

As Alec pulled on his jacket, his mind strayed to a pair of familiar, twinkling dark eyes.

The kind of--feelings? Thoughts? Heart palpitations?--he had for Magnus weren’t the “love at first sight” sort. He saw the way Jace’s eyes lit up when Clary walked into a classroom as a new student, all five feet and ginger hair in a ponytail, saw the way Jace made eye contact with Clary instantly, the way only the poet in Alec could describe--like two souls pulling out the threads that bound their lives and connecting them.

In fact, Alec could almost describe it as _knowing_ he would fall in love with Magnus. Maybe he wouldn’t immediately, but it was inevitable. It was like _koi no yokan:_ an untranslatable phrase in Japanese that meant you knew you would fall in love with a certain someone, someday.

It snatched his breath away.

 

* * *

 

Alec reached the rink, and found that it was already open. The lights were turned on, and even if to normal students walking by it seemed that the lights were turned off, Alec had been working there for more than six months. He knew.

He wrenched the door open to find the school’s ice hockey players, the Idris Hunters, already dressed and playing.

He supposed there was no need to clean up now.

Alec watched, dumbfounded, as they glided across the ice gracefully, the puck sliding between them. There were six of them: Aline, a star player, playing as goaltender, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Simon swung his stick upwards, catching the puck and sending it flying toward the opposite goal. Another boy, whom Alec couldn’t see under his helmet to identify, skidded across the ice, and made a complicated move Alec’s eyes couldn’t follow, and the rubber puck once again soared into the air, this time making contact with a freshman. Another blonde-haired girl had yelled, “Julian!” But it had been too late.

The freshman--Julian, Alec assumed, went down with a grunt. Aline, Simon, the boy and the blonde-haired girl, and Raphael, removed their helmets.

Oh.

The boy who had made that move against Julian was Magnus. In one, fluid move, he had removed his helmet, running a gloved hand through his hair. Even from the podium, Alec could see Magnus’s concerned expression as he knelt down and helped Julian up.

Alec tried to slip past them without them noticing, his arms still full of pucks, and inched into the storage room, dropping them instantly.

He could hear Julian say, “I’m fine, Emma.”

A frustrated groan came from Raphael. “You know Coach Rey’s going to be pissed. We’re going against the Alicante Angels in just weeks, Julian. Now you’re injured, and with Coach’s exaggeration abilities, probably be off the ice for a week. Then we won’t be able to train with you, and _bam._ Trophy’s gone.”

“It’s not that bad, Raphael.” Alec heard Magnus’s sharp inhale, stepping out just in time to see him frown.

Aline’s head snapped up, her hair in the messiest ponytail Alec had ever seen, tufts of her raven hair flying in all directions.  
“You!” She shouted.

Alec had been making his way out of the rink, his hand already resting on the door handle. Alec turned backwards and gaped. “Me?”

“Yeah, you. Can you play?”

“Play? You mean… ice hockey?” Alec couldn’t believe his ears.

Aline rolled her eyes. “No, ice cream. _Yes, ice hockey._ We need someone to stand in. So can you play?”

“Maybe… I mean--yeah. I can.”

Alec used to skate, and occasionally played with Jace and Izzy. They were never good at it, but Alec soared like a eagle on the ice. It was one of the things he had to leave behind after his father--no, _Robert--_ had left. Alec blamed Robert for everything. For tearing up Alec’s writing when Alec was twelve and proud so, so ready to please his father, for always pairing Alec up with every girl he was in a three metre radius of, for hurting his mother, Max, Izzy, Jace, for tearing his world apart. For stopping Jace from following the lilting piano, for stopping Max from being wild and deliriously sick on candy and joy, as a child should have been, for stopping Iz from her joy to create jewellery. For stopping Maryse from being happy, and stopping Alec for being whole.

Alec noticed he was rubbing his ring again when Magnus’s eyes fell to his hand, and Alec self-consciously tucked it in.  
“We don’t have gear. Think you can manage?” Aline’s eyebrows were furrowed as she dug for skates.

“Yeah.”  
She tossed a pair of skates at Alec, who fumbled for them. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t his size. He shouldered past Aline awkwardly and found a pair that were actually his size, sitting on one of the benches and slipping it on.

When he was done looping the laces with shaking fingers, his whole body practically trembling with excitement at doing something he loved and lost once more, Alec found that Magnus was standing at the edge of the rink, his helmet tucked under an arm and his dark eyes twinkling.

“We’ll show you how the Hunters play,” Magnus said to Alec.

Alec grinned back, unable to suppress the pull of his lips.

 

* * *

 

In the end, it was Alec that showed them how to play.

Due to them only having six members on their team, they split into teams of three: Alec, Emma and Aline on a team, and Raphael, Magnus and Simon on the other. He’d gotten the puck around them several times already, his legs crying out in both agony and joy as he slid across the ice once again. His gloved hands, courtesy of Emma (“You’re going to catch frostbite!”), held onto his stick firmly, and Alec twisted his stick in a maneuver he’d learnt from midnights spent up watching matches, and had tried to teach Jace and Izzy futile. The puck spun in the air, toward Simon’s wide open eyes and mouth. _Any moment now,_ Alec’s breath caught in his throat.

And was swept out promptly as a stick slammed into the air just inches away from the goal and Simon’s face, and Alec watched, dumbstruck, as Magnus gave him a smile, a fleeting, but sweet one, and arced the puck out of Alec’s reach, landing at Raphael’s feet.

Julian called, “Coach’s coming!”

Alec found himself reluctantly skating to the edge of the rink, removing his skates.

A hand landed on Alec’s shoulder lightly and he almost flew out of his skin.

It was Magnus. Again. The boy looked at Julian, pointing a long, slender finger at the door, his gloves in one hand. “Go to Catarina. She’s one of my friends. She’ll get you patched up. And you,” Magnus said as soon as Julian shuffled away from view, “continue playing with us.”

Alec found himself staring at Magnus. He couldn't be serious, could he?

But, he was. As Alec soon found out, Magnus, being the team captain and also the most convincing, charming person God had ever created, had somehow convinced Coach Rey that he was to stand in for Julian Blackthorn.

Alec prayed fervently to whatever god was listening to  _please don't make me fall in love with Magnus Bane, but I know I will and it's terrifying._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay,, so. u can find me on twitter @lightwcodbanes OR the hashtag #ringfic!
> 
> things that will MAYBE be in the next chapter--some are fake, some aren't:  
> -the alicante angels (comment who you think they are!)  
> -izzy's jewellery?  
> -a "love" interest for alec that breaks him  
> -magnus's secrets revealed?
> 
> guess you'll just have to wait to find out :)


	3. team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> magnus makes a deal to get alec on the ice hockey team.

highlights of writing:

 

haely: "since we're on the topic of dickheads"

lauren: "WHERE IS THIS MONOLOGUE GOING"

haely: "IN HIS HEAD"

haely: "you're anonymous nyan cat oh my god"

lauren: "NYANYANYANYA"

 

* * *

 

 

“So, you’ve played before then?” Magnus asked as he and Alec moved back into position to play.

“Couple times, with my siblings. Never anything serious, just for a bit of fun.”

“You should consider joining the team. _Some_ players, not naming any names, have been letting us down and Coach Rey’s desperate for anyone who could help us win this season.”

Alec shrugged nonchalantly. He’d never really considered playing a team sport before, never thought it was really his thing, but if Magnus seemed to think he was good enough then maybe he’d give it a shot.

“I’ll think about it,” Alec smiled, “Now, are we playing again or not?”

Magnus opened his mouth to answer, but a loud, booming voice cut across the rink.

“Bane! Which poor soul have you dragged onto the field this time?”

Both Magnus and Alec turned in the direction of the voice, their smiles dropping as their eyes landed on Coach Rey.

“You know the rules, Bane! No bringing random…” Coach’s eyes landed on Alec, and he felt cold fingers grab at his spine as the coach’s voice dropped in disgust, “amateurs into the team. We have tryouts before choosing new members. Get Blackthorn back in the field.”

Alec sighed and started to skate back off the field, but was stopped by Magnus’ hand on his arm.

“Wait. Coach, watch him play just one game, trust me. He’s the sort of person this team needs,” Magnus pleaded.

“He’s got potential, Coach.” Aline shrugged in agreement, Simon nodding along with her.

Coach Rey let out a huff and gestured for the team to get back into position.

“One game. Show me what you’ve got, Lightwood.”

The team took their positions on the rink, and on Aline’s instruction they began to play. Once again, Alec quickly managed to take control of the puck, his hands deftly maneuvering the stick, setting it flying once more. This time, the opposing team had better grasp of Alec’s technique, allowing for Simon to swoop in and steal the puck, now one step ahead of him.

But not for long. Alec managed to steal back the puck within a matter of seconds, and scored easily.

Simon sighed. “Aw, man! I had that puck.”

Alec almost burst out laughing at his child-like pout, but managed to hold it in. Magnus, however, had no such concerns as he clutched his stomach and _howled._ Alec marveled at how someone could sound so angelic. The sound of Coach Rey clearing his throat made him quickly shut up, however, and the entire team went silent as they turned to face him.

“Admittedly, Lightwood does have excellent technique.”

“So, is he on the team?” Magnus asked hopefully.

“No,” Coach replied flatly. “He’s brash, unconcentrated, and more often than not, rule-breaking. We can’t afford to have liabilities such as himself on the team, not this close to the big game.”

Alec flinched. When he’d had Coach Rey for gym, he had skipped the class more than a few times, but it had been back when his family had been falling apart by the seams. He had the unenviable job of taking care of his siblings while his parents fought day in, day out, and gym was the only time he could bunk off and catch up on any schoolwork he needed to do to stop his grades from completely slipping. All the stress of doing that had built up, and it had led to more scars and wounds than usual. Even though he was in a slightly better place now, he understood why Coach wasn’t going to let him on the team without proper tryouts. The words of Aline and Magnus weren’t enough, despite the former being the team captain.

Alec nodded glumly, his mood now fallen to the pits of despair. “I get it. I’ll go.”

Magnus let out a harsh breath, his hand wrapping around Alec’s upper arm. He leaned in, whispering sharply, “You can’t possibly let _Coach_ stop you from this! You’re talented, and skilled.”

“It’s not as if I have a choice, Magnus. He’s the coach, if he doesn’t want me on the team then I can’t do anything about it. Just let it be, okay?”

“No, you deserve to be on this team, you’re the best potential player we’ve had in weeks. There’s got to be something—”

“There’s nothing you can do, Magnus. Coach fucking hates me. Seriously, just let it be.”

Alec turned away from Magnus and skated off to leave the pitch for the second time that afternoon, his eyes burning with unshed tears. He was sure Aline, Simon, Raphael, Emma and Magnus were watching him.  
  
It seemed to be from a far distance that Coach Rey’s voice boomed. “Since we’re on the topic of new members, Jonathan Morgenstern recently tried out for the team and he will be joining us for at least the next few games. I’ll be making Julian a reserve, since he clearly has priorities _somewhere else.”_

Alec couldn’t bear to listen to this any longer. He ducked his head, his hair falling over his eyes, as he pulled off his knee guards and gloves. He threw the stick on the ground and removed his skates, taking care to place them back on the shelves, before pushing his way out of the rink.

* * *

 

“No, Coach wait!” Magnus protested. “Please let Alec on the team. You said it yourself, he’s great and we need a player like him. We don’t know Morgenstern, we need someone we know we’ll get along with and Alec is that person! Please.”

“Morgernstern is a player like him. _Better_ , even. Now quit your whining. You’ll get to know him,” Coach hissed. “Do you want to win against the Alicante Angels or not?”

“I’ll be responsible for him. Alec, I mean.”

“Magnus, what are you saying?” Aline whispered. Coach’s mouth was pressed into a thin line.

“If you let Alec on the team, I’ll make sure he turns up to every practice, every game. And if he doesn’t show up to the final game or we lose, then you can kick us both off. Please.”

Aline interrupted before Coach could say anything. “Wait, I’m sorry, Coach, Magnus isn’t clear-headed at the moment.” To Magnus, she snapped, “What are you thinking? Next to Alec, you’re the only player that sets us apart. If you and Alec both get kicked off, that we won’t be able to get that trophy, Magnus.”

Coach put up a hand before Magnus could reply to Aline, a dangerous glint in his eyes, and the edge of his mouth slanted into a smirk.

“We have a deal, Bane. Go tell Lightwood he’s on the team. As for the rest of you, go home. Next practice is in 2 days, and I expect all of you there.”

The team dispersed and headed off to get changed, all except for Magnus. Once he’d come off the ice, he quickly kicked off his skates and wasted no time in dashing out of the rink, yelling a quick “thank you!” to Coach Rey as he went.

Alec hadn’t made it too far from the building, having taken a few minutes to compose himself before starting to walk back home. However, he stopped again once he heard Magnus’ familiar voice yelling his name, letting the other boy catch up to him.

“Alexander.” Magnus panted, trying to catch his breath. “You’re on the team.”

“What?” Alec asked, unsure if he’d misheard. Coach Rey had flat out said that he wasn’t allowed to join the team, but now…

“I convinced him to let you on the team. You’re on, Alec.”

“How did you—”

“That doesn’t matter, Alec are you listening to me? You’re on the team! Hug me, you idiot!”

Alec’s face broke into a grin as he flung his arms around Magnus, engulfing him in a huge hug.

“Thank you. You won’t regret this.” he mumbled, burying his face in Magnus’ shoulder.

Magnus’ grin fell slightly as he remembered the deal that he’d made with Rey, but he squeezed Alec tighter anyway, trying to shake it off his mind for the moment.

“I trust that I won’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi this is lauren! i’ll be co-writing this fic with haely from now on. i hope you enjoyed this chapter! hopefully we’ll have the next one up soon :3
> 
> you can find us on twitter: lauren as @maiasheline, and me (haely) as @lightwcodbanes! <3


End file.
